Just don't leave any apples near her. She's allergic.

I got my Paradise Galleries Kim Lasher Snow White yesterday. Here's a shot of her in my office:

I plan to do a longer review of her in a week or so, but I wanted to share, because I'm so entranced with her right now. A little later on I may be more objective. ;)

I know Paradise Galleries had a bad reputation for a very long time over their lovely promo photos, and the actual dolls not living up to the pics and being disappointing, but this doll is actually much prettier in person than the site pics. I also bought a Karen Scott Rapunzel from them a couple of years ago, and she's just delightful.

Meanwhile,.I'm working on a review of the next edition in my favorite play doll series--I hope to have that up this weekend. This new doll's a knockout!

Christmas time is here, by golly!

Martie and my lovely new Kurhn doll, Karen, wanted to show you their nice Christmassy plaid dresses. I made Martie's dress, and Karen's is a Barbie vintage piece. Both Karen and her outfit come from Tiny Frock Shop, which is a lovely small business that I *highly* recommend. Kurhn dolls are the "Barbie of China," made in a factory that also makes Barbie. I love how articulated this doll is!

And yes, that's my messy desk at work. We're getting an early start on the April graduation reviews.

#SherlockLives and so do I!

What? I had pneumonia earlier this autumn, because that's what I do every year, apparently. So, NOT DEAD YET!

I thought, in lieu of newer pics for the moment, I'd post a couple of Martie pics I'm especially fond of, to reassure everyone that this blog is still kicking. I've got a review of Pabol doll eyes cooking, so look for that soon. Ish.

Whoops. Wrong Martie.

Review: A beautiful 18" girl direct from China.

I had a heck of a time coming up with a title for this post, because I'm still, after some research, not totally sure what name or company or factory this doll came from. I bought her from Aliexpress.com after seeing a picture on Pinterest that was (mis)labeled as an 18" Adora play doll. Here's the pin:

"When did Adora put out something like this?" I thought, and started googling, because wow. Ever fall in love with a doll from just a picture or two? Yeah, that's exactly what happened. I Had To Find This Doll. I found out quickly that this was not an Adora doll, but otherwise couldn't find her anywhere. I. Had. To. Find This. Doll.

Review of Zylie & Friends Adventuring Bear Doll ZYLIE!

Disclaimer up front: the lovely folks at Zylie & Friends contacted me by email in mid-August to ask if I'd like to review Zylie on DBB, and sent me the bear for review. By coincidence, Zylie arrived on my birthday, which was a very nice bonus surprise.

Let's take a look at Zylie the Bear, shall we?

Hey, kids! School's started!

My job requires a LOT of paperwork, especially at the beginning of the school year, and I'm glad I have dolls in my office to help out with some of the small stuff. Patsy and Sunny have been very helpful in taking papers out of the printer and telling me if the paper runs low.

My own personal Copy Crew!

The second page is taking a long time. 

Refilled and ready to go!

Well, that was a chore! Time for a break.

We're going to the zoo! How about you?

It was my birthday weekend and I wanted to go to the zoo! We have a great Pittsburgh Zoo and it's always a lot of fun. The weather was gorgeous, in the 70s and with a cloud cover--lovely day. Usually in August the temps are in the 90s with insane harsh sunlight, which makes me miserable, so I couldn't have asked for a better day. Of course, Martie came along, because what's a zoo trip without Martie?

Ready to go! 

Let's think of something to do while we're waiting.

I'm working on several posts--one about our zoo trip, and three doll reviews--that probably won't be up until a little later in the week. School is starting and I work at the University of Pittsburgh, so work is really hectic right now.

Meanwhile, though, have a couple of pics I took of Martie at the School of Nursing's August graduation:

This ballroom in the University Club has SRO by the time the graduation ceremony started. We took advantage of the quiet before the storm.

Martie's watching the peregrine falcon (who lives on the 36th floor of the Cathedral of Learning) circle around in the sky. The squirrels and pigeons have all taken cover!

And now she's watching all the happy people coming in from the parking lot next door.

Eyes on this space as the week progresses!